Perpetual futures are derivatives that track an asset's price with no expiry. BitMEX popularized them. They now dominate crypto derivatives. Traditional futures settle on a date. Perpetuals roll forever. The funding rate pins them to spot. When the perpetual trades above spot, longs pay shorts, which adds selling pressure. When below, shorts pay longs. Funding usually exchanges every 8 hours.
Annualized rates can exceed 100% in manias and go deeply negative in capitulation.
You can take leveraged bets without holding the asset. 10x long ETH with $1,000 controls $10,000. A 10% move against you liquidates. Perpetuals trade on Binance, Bybit, and dYdX, and on-chain on GMX and Hyperliquid. Delta-neutral desks go long spot and short the perpetual, or the reverse, to harvest funding without a directional bet. Open interest and funding are watched as positioning gauges.
Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that track an underlying asset's price without expiration dates, invented by BitMEX and now dominating crypto derivatives trading. Unlike traditional futures that settle on specific dates, perpetuals roll indefinitely, behaving like continuously resettling contracts.
Funding is typically exchanged every 8 hours, with rates annualized often reaching extreme values (100%+ during bullish mania, deeply negative during capitulation). BitMEX launched crypto perpetual swaps in 2016. There is no expiry. A funding rate tethers the contract to the spot price.
Perpetual Futures Trading
Interact with perpetual futures contracts that never expire. Watch how funding rates keep perp prices anchored to spot prices.
- • When perp price spot price: positive funding rate, longs pay shorts
- • When perp price spot price: negative funding rate, shorts pay longs
- • Funding payments occur every 8 hours to keep prices anchored
- • No expiration date - positions can be held indefinitely